Almost 181,000 retail food establishments- ranging from grocery stores, produce markets, and bakeries to candy stores-provided more than 3.5 million jobs in 1990, or about 2.5 percent of total U.S. employment. That's up 62 percent since 1975. These retail sales jobs include wage and salary employees who work in large chain stores as well as the self-employed that operate mom-and-pop style shops. These workers complete the linkage between farmers, processors, and consumers.